Four teens were walking the dog on their gravel road on Sept. 11 just off Highway 275. According to court documents, Ethofer shot a rifle once from his vehicle, then got out of the car and shot the dog several more times.

The teenagers took cover and ran home.

Mills County deputies said Thofer "then put the dog in his trunk and drove away ... then buried the dog a couple miles away."

Mills County attorney Tricia McSorley said the teenagers were terrified.

"They were very, very shaken up, both for their own safety and then just traumatized by watching their family pet be killed," McSorley said.